Go Joe Bruin
Fansided

UCLA Football Should Schedule a Notre Dame Home-and-Home Series… For Revenge!

By Mike Regalado

Nov 8, 2014; Tempe, AZ, USA; Detailed view of a Notre Dame Fighting Irish helmet on the sidelines against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Sun Devil Stadium. Arizona State defeated Notre Dame 55-31. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 8, 2014; Tempe, AZ, USA; Detailed view of a Notre Dame Fighting Irish helmet on the sidelines against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Sun Devil Stadium. Arizona State defeated Notre Dame 55-31. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 4
Next
Nov 14, 2015; Pasadena, CA, USA; General view of the Rose Bowl exterior before the NCAA football game between the UCLA Bruins and the Washington State Cougars. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 14, 2015; Pasadena, CA, USA; General view of the Rose Bowl exterior before the NCAA football game between the UCLA Bruins and the Washington State Cougars. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /

Notre Dame at UCLA, Rose Bowl, 2007

The next season, UCLA was looking for some payback and it could not have been more perfectly set up for a Bruin victory. Notre Dame was in a bad spot. If they lost to UCLA, they would match their the worst losing streak in program history of eight straight losses. The Irish entered this game 0-5 on the season.

UCLA Bruins
UCLA Bruins /

UCLA Bruins

Though the Bruins were a little inconsistent to start the season, they were looking promising with a 4–1 record. Behind QB Ben Olson, the Bruins were predicted to run over the Fighting Irish.

That didn’t happen.

Instead, with quarterback Patrick Cowan out with an injury, the Bruins were instantly screwed when Olson went down at the end of the first-quarter with a knee injury.

That prompted Head Coach Karl Dorrell to insert walk-on quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson.  It did not go well.

With Bethel-Thompson making a series of mistakes, the Notre Dame fighting Irish swarmed the inexperienced QB and inflicted their will on the Bruins.

With the UCLA offense unable to do anything and the defense barely holding back Notre Dame’s offense, a plethora of UCLA turnovers (9) and penalties (11) were the deciding factors on this game. Notre Dame found a weakness and they attacked it for a 20-6 win. Their first of the season.

On top of that, this was an unbearable game to watch because of the circumstances surrounding both teams. Not only did this game leave a bad taste in Bruin’s mouths, but the series in general lost its lustre.

Next: And Now It Is Time For Revenge